Radio 5's Peter Allen 'too common' for Today

A top BBC Radio 5 presenter was rejected as a replacement for John Humphrys on the Today programme allegedly because he was not posh enough.

Peter Allen, the award-winning host of the Drive show, is said to have been denied the prize job at the last minute because he had not gone to Oxford or Cambridge.

His succession to the Radio 4 post when Humphrys, 64, retires, was allegedly blocked by BBC bosses reluctant to have an "Essex boy" at the helm.

Allen, 61, has won plaudits for employing a sharp interviewing technique while retaining Radio Five's refreshing style. But he allegedly told a friend that he was rejected for the post because his "voice was not right".

Allen, who was a pupil at fee-paying Brentwood School at the same time as Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, worked for a local paper after his A-levels. He has presented on Radio 5 since 1994.

His informal style, however, belies a white-hot intellect that many believe would have been perfectly employed grilling politicians on Today.

Related Articles

Yesterday, a friend told The Daily Telegraph: "He told me, 'It would have been a great way to end my career. But obviously my voice was not right for Radio 4'?."

The friend added: "He thought it was a snobbery thing. He thinks he is the victim of ageism as well. He has since signed a three-year contract with Radio 5."

Another source had told the Mail on Sunday: "The BBC — and Radio 4 in particular — is run by Oxbridge snobs. Peter is a brilliant broadcaster but he never went to university and worked his way up.

"His Essex background also counted against him. He has a blokey, populist style so the liberals who run the BBC probably assume wrongly that he is a Tory. He is, in fact, fiercely independent."

Humphrys never went to university, but the Today programme is often characterised as being dominated by the cut-glass tones of Charlotte Green and Ed Stourton.

Last night, the BBC refused to comment. A spokesman said: "The reason we are not commenting is that it is about whether or not someone went for a job that may or not exist. Consequently, we cannot really get into it."